Bell Tel: No existing co-location agreement in NGCP sites

MANILA, 11th May 2017: Bell Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (“Bell Tel”) clarified that it does not have any existing co-location agreement with either the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (“NGCP”) or the National Transmission Corporation (“Transco”) relating to installation of telecommunication structures in any of the NGCP-controlled sites. Transco is the National Transmission Corp., which owns the country’s power grid while NGCP is Transco’s private concessionaire.

“Bell Tel does not have any existing assets in any NGCP-controlled location as there is no existing co-location agreement with NGCP nor Transco,” said Bell Tel co-General Manager Ramon Aesquivel. Bell Tel is one of the subsidiaries of Vega Telecom, Inc., which was jointly acquired last year by Globe Telecoms Inc. (“Globe”) and PLDT Inc. (“PLDT”) from San Miguel Corporation (“SMC”).

Citing a letter to NGCP President Henry Sy, Jr., Transco President Melvin Matibag claimed during a media briefing that he has received reports about “dismantling and deinstallation” of telecommunication facilities supposedly owned by Bell Tel located at NGCP sub-stations, high voltage towers and high voltage poles. Matibag also cited purchase orders, signed by Aesquivel and Bell Tel co-General Manager Aileen Regio, supposedly to implement the said “dismantling and deinstallation”.

Aesquivel stressed, however, that the initial investigation conducted by Bell Tel showed that the purchase orders cited by Matibag were intended for other sites, none of which are NGCP locations.

“Bell Tel has not authorized the dismantling of any telco facility in any NGCP site because Bell Tel does not have existing facilities in those locations to begin with,” Aesquivel emphasized. “”If indeed there is ongoing dismantling of telco facilities within NGCP sites, those are not owned by nor are related to Bell Tel in any way,” he said.

He added that Bell Tel is currently undertaking its own investigation on this matter, including how a Bell Tel purchase order issued to one of its contractors ended up with someone unauthorized or not party to the intended purpose of the purchase order.

KonsultaMD collaborates with new partners to provide better medical service to Globe customers  

 

Manila, Philippines –– KonsultaMD, a 24/7 health hotline service that provides access to licensed and professional doctors to provide immediate medical attention to Filipinos, recently partnered with MedGrocer, FamilyDOC, Healthway Medical, and Lifeline with these benefits:

 

By calling 79880 (mobile) or (02) 798 8000 (landline), callers can speak to a licensed Filipino doctor regarding their health concerns. Inquiries about health-related issues include, but is not limited to, maternity, pediatrics and primary conditions like fever, rashes, and allergies, to name a few. Callers may also inquire about matters pertaining to health coaching, nutrition counselling, permissible medication, and even laboratory results.

 

To be able to connect with the hotline service, customers need to apply for a subscription, which can be done by visiting any Globe store nationwide, calling the KonsultaMD hotline at 79880 (mobile) or (02) 798 8000, or by signing up at their website, https://www.konsulta.md/.  Currently, only Globe customers can subscribe to KonsultaMD but this service will be opened to other operators soon

HNU gets free Smart wifi

TAGBILARAN CITY, March 7 (PIA)–The day after President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Philippine national Broadband Plan to effect a faster and more reliable communications in the country, Holy Name University in Bohol also partners with Smart Telecommunications for a wireless fidelity (wifi) internet access for its students.
And for that, Smart Communications incorporated allocated 100 megabyte per second (mbps) internet bandwidth to the catholic university, giving students some 30 minutes free internet service daily.
Holy Name University President Fr. Francisco Estepa SVD, pointed out that the provision of SmartWifi in the campus is the third among HNU and Smart partnerships.
He told the modest crowd gathered at the covered shed beside the campus Bates Building that HNU also got Smart suite.
Smart Learning Suite is a facility that combines lesson delivery, assessment, student collaboration and game-based learning software via the Smart Notebook, Smart Lab, Smart Response and Smart Amps.
He also said HNU partnered with Smart on Smart Sports.
This time, Smart Communications incorporated again partnered with HNU on the SmartWifi in the campus.
“Our partnership with Smart has been very beneficial to the school, we do hope that we had mutual benefits with Smart,” Fr. Estepa said.
The partnership allows the HNU community to get 30 minutes free wifi access daily, also gets them free infrastructure in cables, access points, 100 MBPS of internet bandwidth, free facility operation and maintenance, while earning a co-branded set service identification (ssid) and leading page, courtesy of Smart.
For partnering with Smart, HNU also commits to shoulder costs of power used by the facility, provide adequate space for the infrastructure, allows the tapping of the facility to HNU emergency power supply, provides security to the facility and its components, as well as allowing the telecommunications company to advertise its services to students.
For students who want more access time, all they need to do is buy access cards from the school canteen to continue using the service after the free provisions, Smart said.
Signing the agreements were Wifi Team Smart Communications head Regina Pineda, and HNU President Fr. Estepa.
Also witnessing the ceremonies were Smart Area Development Manager Lailane Husain, Fr. Vicente Uy SVD and school professors, students and employees.
Other than HNU, Smart has also put up a fast and reliable wifi connection at the Tagbilaran City Airport, and had been asked to provide the same huge bandwidth at the Tagbilaran City Port, Tagbilaran City Hall, the nw Provincial Capitol and some identified public places. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)

Cebu Landmasters readies to go public via IPO

Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), the leading homegrown developer in Metro Cebu, intends to raise up to P3.8 billion from an initial public offering scheduled for May to fund land acquisition and development costs for its expansion plans to five key cities in Visayas and Mindanao. Part of the proceeds will also be used for debt repayment and working capital requirements.
In a prospectus submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission today, Cebu Landmasters is listing and selling firm shares of 505 million common shares with an over allotment option of 75 million shares on the local bourse targeting mid-to late-May 2017. This represents up to 34% of the company’s outstanding common shares, post-IPO.
Of the firm shares, 430 million are new shares forming the primary tranche, while 75 million are existing shares forming the secondary tranche. The 75 million shares from the greenshoe will be from existing shareholders. The IPO will be priced at up to P6.56 per share.
BDO Capital will serve as the sole issue manager for CLI’s stock market debut. Joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners are BDO Capital and BPI Capital.
CLI is the first Cebu-based real estate developer to apply for an IPO and the leading local real estate developer in the Metro Cebu residential condominium arena. It accounts for 11 per cent market share of the total supply of residential condominium units in Metro Cebu, second only to Ayala Land, according to a market study by CBRE Philippines (now Santos Knight Frank).
In just 13 years, Cebu Landmasters has diversified from the residential segment into commercial, hospitality, industrial and mixed-use product offerings further distinguishing it from other VisMin real estate players. CLI president and CEO Jose Soberano III observed: “We will use our flexibility to create new developments in the cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo and new Cebu locations. These projects will maximize the demand and supply indicators in each location with the best uses for each site.”
In highly urbanized areas exhibiting strong sustained growth like the booming Cebu I.T. Park, for instance, it will offer a high-end New York inspired residential development masterplanned by global designers to be part of a mixed-use hub with a retail plaza, park and a future office component. In rapidly urbanizing cities like Davao and Cagayan de Oro, it will offer mid-market residential condominiums that meet the needs, aspirations and price points of BPO and other employees as well as those of OFWs. In fact, the first phase of its Cagayan de Oro project sold out in less than a year.
Meanwhile, in the so-called Next Wave Cities like Dumaguete, Iloilo and Bacolod where BPO firms are locating and fueling the economy together with OFW remittances, it will offer its economic housing brand known for its generous amenities and ideal location.
In 2016, Cebu Landmasters generated revenues of P2.17 billion and net profits of P702 million. Its recent projects include residential condominiums Mivesa Garden Residences and Midori Residences identified by CBRE as the top-selling projects in Metro Cebu. It also sold office projects and partnered with The Ascott Limited to develop Citadines Cebu City to open by 2019 with 180 serviced apartments.
CLI has also built its track record on projects that offer exceptional values to clients. Soberano explained that its being a homegrown company allows it to tap the best suppliers and best deals in VisMin locations and to pass on the savings to customers. “Being value-focused Visayans ourselves, we have a good idea of the kind of spaces clients appreciate and how much they will willingly pay for them.” CLI is set to continue its hands-on approach and maximize its knowledge of the local market to achieve high client satisfaction scores across VisMin, he emphasized.
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